A Nation of Orugu
by vikung-fu
Summary: [Multi Series Continuity] Taking place two years after the events of Gaoranger, the forces of the Orugu Nation rise up once more in their unending struggle against humanity.
1. Chapter 1

**RESTORATION**

Business had been slow for Sasuke over the past year and a half. When he had graduated from university it had seemed like his whole life had opened up before him, now however, so many years later it felt as if the walls were closing in on him.

He looked around at the gathered expressions of his fellow travellers and tried to ignore the contrast between them and the incandescent sunlight that streamed in through the tram carriage's open windows. He had travelled such a long way from his childhood in Shizuoka and yet, despite the distance, he still seemed to be trapped in the same cycle of drudgery that had been established long before his high-school years.

He sighed and reached inside his jacket, patting the inside lining until he felt the reassuring bulge of his cigarette carton in the silk of his inside pocket.

Sasuke's admittedly unusual career choice as a private detective had seemed like a good idea at the time, now however, with no real savings and no prospects so to speak he was almost on the verge of admitting that it perhaps wasn't the most sensible of options. Friends and family alike had urged him to search for a more conventional choice of employment, his mother particularly, who had been incensed to discover that he had taken a part-time job at an amusement park simply to make ends meet.

And yet despite the hardships and the fact that actual assignments were as rare as gold dust, Sasuke couldn't quite bring himself to close the door on his one-man agency and hand his licence in.

He couldn't resist mystery; it was as simple as that. Ever since childhood he had been fascinated with finding solutions to situations that confused all but the most dedicated of minds. Even the most trivial mysteries, such as finding the location of a missing feline or a misplaced set of keys, were relished by his young mind.

He alone had been the sole founder and member of his school's junior detective club. It hadn't mattered to him that no one else had been interested, all that mattered was the discovery and resolution of mystery.

With a half-fond smile of recollection he reached into his pockets and retrieved the crumpled note, unfolding it and once more reading the details contained within. The note had arrived a week ago but he had been unable to investigate due to the shifts he was working at the amusement park. Now, five days later, he at last had the opportunity he needed to investigate the contents further.

The note had been delivered with no markings as to indicate when it had been posted nor had the author deigned to append a name to the work. It was a vague suggestion scrawled in a horribly cursive script that gave little details. Despite this Sasuke had found his mind enthralled by it.

The bell rung and the tram slowed finally to a halt, pushing him forwards amongst the crowd till he was finally on the street, his worn leather shoes tapping a broken rhythm on the cracked pavement beneath. Idly he retrieved the carton from his pocket and flicked open his silver lighter, bringing the pale flame to the tip of his cigarette and exhaling loudly. With disinterest he glanced once more at the note and the address attached at the very bottom before crumpling the paper back into his pocket.

The address given was in the Italian quarter. He looked up at the aged buildings haphazardly growing upwards like entwined plants stretching for the sun and dispassionately registered that he was in the right place.

Quickly he bowed his head and turned the collar of his suit jacket up against the bitter wind, moving swiftly amongst the crowds of dull, grey faced people and overawed tourists. With pained indifference he lost himself in the crowds, moving beneath the shadows of those twisted buildings and walking ever further down into the below-street-level heart of the city. As he descended he glanced occasionally over his shoulder, watching the faces of those he encountered harden as the buildings in which they lived became more and more disjointed in appearance. He didn't pause to talk, moving solemnly forwards, his mind focused on the contents of the message.

Despite his excitement, a note of silent dread had crept into his thoughts. He couldn't help but remember the curious events of the previous year.

He recalled the bright flash of green light and the reassuring voice and then his memory descended into a kaleidoscope of surreal images; monsters, ninjas and colossal helicopters...it was like something from a cheap paperback or, at the very least, gaudy weekend morning television for children.

He jumbled the images, trying to arrange them into some kind of order, conscious of the fact that he was struggling too hard to match the memory with the words that had been scribbled in the note he had received.

Sweat dampened his palms as he walked through littered streets and abandoned buildings, turning a corner and heading down a pockmarked concrete slope into an underground car park beneath a long forgotten warehouse.

Slowly he stepped into the dim light between the rows of burnt-out cars and froze, his muscles tensing and the fine hair on the back of his neck standing on end. At the other end of the squalid concrete car park was a hideous figure, several feet taller than him. From its broad shoulders protruded golden horns that shimmered softly as the pale sunlight struggled to illuminate its stature. Its flesh was as cold and grey as any lifeless metal and, as it slowly turned to face him, Sasuke gasped in revulsion at the swollen, emotionless eyes that filled the majority of its blank face and the massive curve of the horn that protruded from its forehead.

It turned fully and for the first time the young detective realised that the monster was armed, a massive golden club held tight in one of its massive hands.

"Welcome, little man." The monster growled, its voice low and rumbling and more than a little surprised. It barked a short, sharp laugh and took a single step forwards.

Fearfully Sasuke began to grope the air behind him desperately searching for something, anything that could be used as a weapon against the giant.

"You're one of the monsters I saw last year!" He whispered in horror, glancing around at the empty spaces between the ruined cars for any trace of the familiar flash of green light, willing that barely remembered figure to come once more to his aid. The world about him remained solemn and dead.

"No, human, I am nothing like the monsters thathave previously haunted you." It took another heavy step forwards, its massive feet shattering the scarred concrete beneath it. "My name is Prometheus Titan; Aurgette King."

"Aurgette?" Sasuke repeated, sweat running cold down his back.

"We are the faceless soldiers of the Earth, little human. The spirits of neglect gathered in hives beneath the soft crust of your society. We are a culture of disrepute, fashioning our children from your waste."

"What do you want from me?" Sasuke cried out in sudden desperate fear as the giant took another two steps closer towards him, making the distance between them seem infinitesimal.

The creature paused, tilted its head and then, without a hint of mercy in its cold voice, it replied simply: "Your face."

In the blink of an eye the giant leant forwards and charged, pulling back one of its massive fists and slamming it into Sasuke's shoulder. He screamed out, his lips dry and his eyes wild with terror as he buckled beneath the weight of the crushing blow, the bones of his shoulder dissolving into ruin. His knees faltered and a second giant hand snatched him up by his shirt and lifted him into the air.

"Great detective, you have no idea how important you are." The monster whispered close to his face, pungent breath issuing forth from its pin-prick nostrils. "With your face and your spirit we can walk freely amongst your people. Your spirit has been tainted by legendary power, little man, with that talent working in our favour there is nothing we cannot do."

Sasuke blinked, struggling to remain conscious enough to resist. His head lolled, tears of pain and exertion running down his burning cheeks. The monster reached out with its free hand and he felt the fingers close about his head, encompassing him in darkness.

With brutal efficiency they tightened about him and he was shocked awake by a sensation of terrible pain as the pressure began to crush his head tighter and tighter. He opened his mouth and screamed into the darkness, warm flecks of spit staining the palm of the monster's hand.

There was a sudden muffled explosion and he felt the air upon his face once more, his body falling the short distance to the ground as the giant released him. He crashed forwards, barely holding himself up on one arm as his head throbbed in agony. Slowly he looked up and for a single moment he saw the back of the familiar costume, the shimmering gold and green of the armour and the heavy baseball bat he had carried at his side.

He screwed his eyes up and blinked them open again and, as he did so, the green of the warrior's armour faded to black.

"Who are you?" He whispered; his voice weak.

The figure glanced over his shoulder, looking down upon him through the ragged black visor that hid his eyes.

"Are you okay? Can you still run?" He asked anxiously.

Sasuke stared up at him, studying the detailed diamond shapes that ran up his arms and legs. His boots were topped with gold and, hanging from the golden belt at his waist, was a silver staff of sorts with a crafted dinosaur handle – a staff that he had initially mistaken for a baseball bat.

"You're one of the legendary warriors..." Sasuke gasped, hauling himself to his feet, his eyes narrowing in pain. "You have to tell me where the other one is; the one that took my place!"

"There's no time now!" The warrior said; his tone full of strangled urgency. "Quickly, run from here! Run whilst you still can!"

Sasuke stumbled forwards.

"Please you have to tell me..." He gasped, collapsing into the armoured warrior before him. "I need to know..."

With a roar of contempt the giant lashed out, crashing the back of its hand into the side of the warrior's helmet. Beneath its colossal knuckles the armour cracked and shattered, splintering out like shards of glass as the warrior crashed into Sasuke and they both tumbled to the floor.

The pain in the detective's shoulder and head throbbed all the more powerfully now, his vision fading in and out as he clawed himself up from the stained concrete of the ground, struggling to focus on the pale, frightened face behind the cracked masque.

"Please, save yourself." The figure whispered, forcing a smile onto his lips. "Otherwise my death will be in vain."

"Don't say that!" Sasuke blurted out, tears welling up in his bloodshot eyes. "You're a legendary hero, you can't die!"

The giant hand descended once more, wrapping over the warrior's shattered helmet and hauling him up from the ground. Before the darkness overtook him Sasuke could make out the faint traces of pale white whiskers upon the man's face.

As he slumped forwards again into the dirt he heard the expressionless giant laughing from behind the smooth flesh of its face. His sight faded and he felt the gentlest pressure upon the back of his head.

"Sleep well, great detective, Prometheus Titan affords you slumber this night." The giant boomed heartily. "You have proved yourself the perfect bait and now."

The pressure upon his head suddenly intolerable and the world around him turned abruptly, and finally, to shadow. In the faint distance of his dying mind was the memory of a single flash of green light flickering once and then guttering out forever.


	2. Chapter 2

**IN DARKEST DESPAIR**

Captain Odagiri stood with her hands clasped behind her back and her eyes turned high towards the calm of the rolling clouds above her.

Time had passed so quickly, she reflected, her gaze drawn to the passing condor as it beat its angry wings across the lonely skies. She remembered how furious she had been when, a few scarce months into the Vyram's siege, Chief Counsellor Miura Naoyuki's UAOH division had used the technology of the J-Project, irrespective of her feelings, as a corner stone of their Ohranger project.

She had raged at Miura for disrespecting her authority, threatened to turn in her commission and yet secretly she had been pleased. In a curious way it was almost justification that her vision, her dreams encapsulated within the development of the project had been sound enough to be not only noticed, but recognised and developed further.

Miura had revived the lost energies of Pangaea and constructed a colossal pyramid in order to fuel the transformation of his division's team. By comparison her own research into birdonic waves looked woefully underdeveloped...and yet she still remained proud that without her, without J-Project...without _Jetman_, there could never have Ohranger.

It seemed only fair then that whilst her own Jet Machines had been destroyed in the conflict, Miura's mystically enthused Ohranger technology still remained intact.

The door creaked open and Miura entered. She turned and bowed curtly; taking in the new lines that now marked his face and the lines of heavy grey that ran through his once dark hair.

"Commander Odagiri..." He began, bowing in return.

"_Captain _Odagiri." She replied, her voice short and perhaps slightly less cautious than she could have allowed herself to be.

Miura raised an eyebrow.

"I stand corrected. _Captain _Odagiri, it's been some time since we last met. To what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?"

"I want to see your file on Second Lieutenant Washio Gaku." She said firmly and clearly.

Miura smiled quietly and shook his head, taking a seat behind his cluttered desk.

"You are very forward aren't you, Captain?" He remarked. "As for your request however, I don't believe I recall a Second Lieutenant Washio, perhaps if you were to forward the Second Lieutenant's details to my secretary I could..."

"Don't feign innocence with me!" Odagiri shouted, slamming her fist into the desk. "I won't stand for your interference a second time, Counsellor."

He looked up, his eyes dark and mysterious.

"_Chief _Counsellor." He corrected her softly.

"I stand corrected." She retorted, folding her arms across her chest and glaring down at him.

For a moment he held her gaze and then, with a smile he looked away.

"Ah, but I see you're quiet serious about this. Very well then..." He glanced beyond her, over her shoulder and towards the pale blue sky visible through the open window. "Second Lieutenant Washio was a very talented pilot and, if I recall correctly, one of the best to have graduated from the academy since your famous protégée, Tendou Ryuu.

"He was born in Hokkaido in 1978; his blood type is O and he's also a moderately good swordsman. . Two years ago he was listed as absent without leave, a matter which was still being investigated upon his return and subsequent second disappearance. But I think you know all this already, Captain Odagiri."

"I do." She answered. "Which is why I'm asking again to see _your _file on him."

Miura smiled again.

"Ah, you think that perhaps there is a secret about Second Lieutenant Washio's behaviour that I am privy to and that I have somehow held this back from you? Shame on you, Captain, it doesn't pay to be so suspicious."

"Tell me now exactly what has happened to Second Lieutenant Washio or I shall report you directly to Supreme Commander Ichijou." She said firmly.

Miura sighed and reclined in his chair.

"Blackmail, eh? To think it's come to that." He shook his head sadly. "Very well, Captain Odagiri, I'll tell you what we know of the Second Lieutenant."

Slowly Miura lifted his head and their eyes met once more. Again, she found herself startled by the striking darkness present in his cold gaze.

"Earlier this year we confirmed a sighting of Second Lieutenant Washio engaged in combat with an unidentified BEM. We looked into the matter and discovered that this breed of BEM appears to have been connected with Washio's initial desertion several years ago. We don't have any details in regards to what these creatures are but we can confirm that they are not extraterrestrial in origin and, as of current analysis, they seem to be entirely separate to the invading other-dimensional force identified as 'Evolian'."

"If these creatures don't come from space then where do they come from?" Odagiri asked with a frown.

Again Miura smiled with disarming patience.

"If you want my guess, and this really is only a guess, then I would say they were our children."

"Children?" Odagiri asked in horror.

Miura nodded slowly, the smile remaining upon his face.

"The Pangaean civilisation ended in blood and fire and, from the ashes, we evolved. What's to say these new BEMs aren't some evolutionary warning of our own predestined end."

"That's nonsense." Odagiri snorted with contempt.

Miura raised another eyebrow.

"Nonsense, perhaps, yet you can't deny that you're worried, can you, Captain."

Odagiri looked away again, turned her back on the counsellor and looking once more to the now empty skies.

"Of course I'm worried." She said quietly. "We've lost an exceptional pilot and what's more, you're now claiming that we've lost him to a war against a species that may possibly signal our own extinction; a war that you seem perfectly content to sit back and wash your hands of."

She turned again and shot a sharp glare at the older man reclining behind his desk.

Miura shrugged and smiled dangerously.

"There is only so much you can do when you're constrained by legalities." He answered before adding: "Perhaps this is the lesson Second Lieutenant Washio also learnt."

"Or perhaps Second Lieutenant Washio's guidance was sufficiently lacking to cause him to be unable to imagine a possibility that would have allowed him to fight within the limits of his legalities." She paused and looked firmly down at her seated superior. "Chief Counsellor Miura, I hereby inform you of my intention to requisition OhrangerRobo from UAOH. Please make the necessary arrangements and have each component machine delivered to Skyforce headquarters."

"I'm afraid I can't authorise that, Captain Odagiri." Miura replied firmly.

"Then I shall report you to Supreme Commander Ichijou and request that he _order _you to deliver OhrangerRobo to Skyforce."

"You're a very determined lady, Captain." Miura smiled with begrudging respect. "Tell me though, just who will you chose to pilot the machines? Can you honestly say you have someone in your organisation talented enough to control Sky Phoenix? I can't imagine your beloved Tendou returning from retirement just to bloody his hands once again."

"I will find Second Lieutenant Washio and explain to him my interest in employing his skills." She countered.

"I thought you might say that, but isn't this all a bit sudden? Previous to stepping foot in this office you had no conception of Washio's war and yet now, here you are, attempting to intimidate me into handing over classified military equipment in order to aid the plight of someone who is, to all purposes and intents, a deserter. Don't you think that's a bit much?"

"No." She answered coldly. "I think this makes us even."

Miura smiled sadly.

"Ah, you're still angry about J-Project?" He asked.

"Of course I'm still angry." She retorted, her voice trembling with barely restrained rage. "Wouldn't you be?"

"Perhaps." He shrugged. "But I find my use of the J-Project as a stepping stone to the development of the Ohranger project perfectly justifiable. By the time I made the decision to seize your work we already knew that Baranoia was targeting us. It was only a matter of time before they arrived...and I personally felt that we couldn't count on your newly formed Jetman unit to defend Earth in a war on two fronts."

"That doesn't make it any less acceptable, Chief Counsellor." Odagiri answered.

"Ah, but it doesn't soften your heart a little, doesn't it, Captain? Really, you're quite pretty when you're not so angry."

"And your behaviour is just as unacceptable now as it was four years ago." She said and turned away; reaching out for the door and pulling it open by the handle. "Make sure you have OhrangerRobo delivered promptly."

Miura sighed but did not rise from his chair.

"It'll take time to confirm that the machines are still in working order, you wouldn't want UAOH to get a reputation for delivering substandard goods now would you?"

"You have 48 hours, Chief Counsellor. Any longer than that and you can take the matter up with Supreme Commander Ichijou." She paused and looked at his nonchalant smile. "Good day, Chief Counsellor."

The door slammed behind her, the click of her heels resounding down the empty corridor outside for moments after her departure. He waited until the sound of her shoes had completely faded and then slowly reached out and snatched the telephone receiver from its cradle, carefully dialling the number and waiting several more moments.

The phone clicked and Miura smiled at the familiar echo of tools from the other end.

"Good evening, Major Hoshino." He said calmly. "I'm afraid that we're going to have less time than we thought. It would appear our dedicated Captain Odagiri is most certainly going after Washio."

The voice that came over the phone in reply was respectful and firm.

_ 'That's going to cause us some problems. I take it she requested OhrangerRobo as we assumed she would.'_

"Indeed she did." Miura replied with a smirk. "In fact she was quite insistent."

_'That still leaves us with a lot of firepower regardless of OhrangerRobo's loss.' _The voice on the other end paused for a moment and then doubtfully added: _'Are you sure you want us to continue restoration work on this old Defence Ministry machine?'_

"That old machine, as you so politely call it, could mean the difference between life and death, Major Hoshino. If our information is correct then these creatures our young friend has been fighting posses a culture a lot older than anyone before now has speculated; it's the evolution of their sciences and technologies that obscure the significance of this.

"By the time we confront them in combat they may be all too well prepared for both OhrangerRobo and OhBlocker and in that case, Tetsuzan's 'old iron man' might be the only thing that gives us an advantage."

_ 'Understood, sir.' _The voice on the other end of the phone sighed. _'I assume it's too soon to hope we've obtained a lead on one of those_ other_ machines.'_

Miura sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger.

"Not yet. We have an idea but no conformation." He answered slowly.

_  
'I understand. I'm sure it'll turn up soon, sir.' _The voice paused for a moment, the silence lingering before Hoshino finally added: _'Well, if that's all, I'm going to get back to work, especially now we know time is brief.'_

"Thank you...Gorou." Miura smiled. "I really appreciate your efforts on this."

Quietly he returned the receiver back to its cradle and looked once more out of the window and the rolling cloud that slowly spread across the skies.

It had been four years since the defeat of both Baranoia and Vyram; four long years in which the world had fallen prey to almost every possible kind of disaster from space. When the Evolian spacecraft had torn its way across the skies of Earth, releasing the three crazed dinosaur machines, Miura had authorised the remobilisation of Red Puncher and Tackleboy only to find his order countermanded by Ichijou. At the time he had questioned it but Ichijou had been reluctant to answer.

Now, several months later he understood all too well the reasons. Someone was trying to bury UAOH. Even in the face of a hostile alien invasion, certain political measures were being locked firmly in place to stop them from acting in the nation's best interests. The old 'self defence' feint again, he reflected with disgust.

That same pressure that even now prevented UAOH from acting had forced him to manipulated Odagiri and covertly embark upon defence measures of his own. He wasn't especially proud of himself but neither was he about to entrust Earth's fate in the hands of four civilians with unknown levels of destructive powers and an armada of foreboding prehistoric machines.

Chief Counsellor Miura would fight once again to defend the world he believed in and, if he had to manipulate both Odagiri and Skyforce to get what he wanted then so be it. The means justified the end.

Sadly he looked once more out of his wide office window. Of bird life there was no sign at all.

* * *

Her feet were heavy against the damp forest soil, the rain clinging to the air before her to form a thin mist that seemed to spread out forever through the sinewy branches of the ancient woodland. She hated forests, hated the choking oxygen that spread out from the vegetation and the raw emptiness of the ground beneath her. 

With a second burst of speed she kicked away from the ground, wings of putrid and rusted metal and flesh spreading out and sending shivers of bone-splintering agony down her back. Sweat crowded her face but still she kept her wings open, every muscle in her malformed body tensing as she pushed them down and open in mimicry of the flight of some sickly and unkind bird.

For a moment the pain coursed through her body with such raw power that she thought it would tear her apart and then, with a rush of delight she saw the broad shoulders and shimmering golden horn of her waiting companion upon the horizon and her heart soared.

She dropped from the sky and fell to her knees, folding the sickening ruin of her wings back and inclining her head.

"Greetings, Titan-sama. My apologies if my lack of speed has caused you any inconvenience." She whispered with a trembling voice.

The colossal Aurgette stood with his back towards her, his head turned slightly so she could see the emotionless purple of his wide eyes and the emptiness that lay below.

"Talaria," The deep voice of the Aurgette rumbled from his mouthless face. "Your humility sickens me. What news do you have for me?"

Talaria kept her head bowed, staring at the soil beneath her bleeding feet, the sweat pouring from her forehead.

"The dragon-man has been returned to his people. He does not remember his meeting with you however, as commanded; we have ensured his loyalty to us by way of Binding." She answered in her quivering voice.

"Then we are prepared for action?" The hulking Aurgette questioned.

"N-Not yet, my lord. Duke Khthonie begs but a little more time in his preparations."

Prometheus Titan clenched his giant fists and turned slowly to face her, fury boiling in his pale, watery eyes.

"Khthonie is a fool if he thinks if he thinks he can trespass on sacred ground simply because he was born ugly and without a horn. Those are the places that are not for us, Talaria, mark my words. Better that we drown them beneath the earth and blood of their soldiers than risk our own malady."

Talaria ground her teeth together and looked intently at the dirt.

"What's the matter, Talaria?" The Aurgette King murmured mockingly after a while. "Don't you have an opinion?"

"With all due respect, my lord, I can't speak against Duke..." Her speech ended abruptly as Titan's foot crashed into her side, sending her sprawling upon the dirt and leaves of the forest.

"PATHETIC!" He roared with fury.

With his massive hand he reached out and seized her by the golden horn that rose elaborately from her forehead, dragging her screaming from the soft forest ground.

"Mark my words, Talaria; a dog may not have two masters." In contempt he threw her back to the ground and turned away. "You sicken me. Get out whilst you still have limbs to serve you."

Shuddering in pain, Talaria lifted herself and leapt up into the trees, her sickly wings stretching out once more as she jumped upwards, clearing the forest and rising into the pale skies above. Behind her pale hair streamed away, fluttering in the current generated by the agonising beating of her wings.

In the far distance lay the beauty of the crowded and warped cities that had nurtured her since birth and beyond them...beyond was Khthonie and the future of the Orugu Nation.

Beyond was salvation.


End file.
